02 Innocence
by Kraya
Summary: Albel contemplates the different kinds of innocence in the world and just how thrilling it can be to tear it away from people. It's not especially difficult, except in one case. Brief, non-graphic mention of virginity. Implied AlbelxOC.


_Date written:  
July 27th 2008 [I think]_

_Song: "Innocence" by Hitomi.  
I don't even have any idea what the song is about, even though I've read the translation. I'm fairly sure it's not anywhere near what this fic is like._

_One of the choruses that at least seem to somewhat fit (translated by Kiwi-Musume):  
"If we hurt people  
And lose our kindness  
Then we'll try and think  
Of the innocence in our hearts  
And the dreams we had as kids  
That's sure to bring our passion back"_

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The best place to be, in his opinion, was where he was right now: At the top of the watchtower, able to see everything going on. There was nothing within range that he could not see and he could choose to eliminate any of them. Absolute dominance.

Albel Nox grinned wickedly. Having such power truly lit him up. The power to destroy anything he set his sights on; the power to kill whatever came at him– but most of all, the power to corrupt innocence.

The thought caused his eyes to narrow, increasing the visual effect of cruelty. Innocence. The innocence of the unimpeachable, the innocence of a virgin and the innocence of a child.

The former was boring in terms of law, of course, but still satisfying enough in terms of dirtied hands. He found it amusing to watch the reaction of one who had killed for the first time– the self loathing they suddenly had; how very disgusted they were with themselves sometimes to the point of being unable to go on living.

The middle, he wasn't unfamiliar with, yet still found incredibly boring. As cruel as he was and as much as he loved a screaming target, intercourse was never the same as a fight– and of course, there'd never be a willing victim.

The latter was his personal favorite, being that there were so many ways to obliterate such innocence. From things as simple as telling them that Santa Claus wasn't real to extremes such as murdering in front of their eyes. There were so many possibilities in-between, it made the man shudder in delight at the mere thought of the look of horror on those tiny faces.

There was one other face that came to mind other than a moppet. The face of an adult that housed the eyes of a child. Such a person sat on a stone bench far below him, head tilted upward and vibrant eyes closed to enjoy the feeling of the snowflakes fluttering down to land on her cheeks.

Yes, this woman. Jon'quet. This woman that had been around for years he couldn't even remember; this woman that had truly matured shortly after hitting the double digits; this woman that had seen battle with and against him; this woman that should not have such innocence. Her eyes, even after gazing upon slaughtered foes and her own bloody hands had never lost their child-like shine.

Sure, there were other adults that had such a thing. Adults that accepted it all and could still give a genuine smile. There was little difference between her and them, yet it stood so blatantly obvious and still unknown to Albel. There was a fine line that he could see as though it were white on black, yet he could never figure out what it was.

Perhaps it was just the vibrancy of her eyes. They were, after-all, a rare color not unlike his own. Eyes as bright red as fresh blood upon fallen snow. Many adult's eyes clouded as they aged. But certainly this couldn't be it.

Maybe it was her hair. No, no, no. Her hair was too dull, as if she'd already begun her descent into old age. A pale, dull blue that mirrored the constantly dreary sky of Airyglyph.

Her clothes were definitely out of the question. She garbed herself in attire expected of a fighter, armor scattered about her outfit in a routine way unlike a suit of armor. As if he was one to talk.

He was still drawing a blank and it irritated him. This was a riddle he had made for himself and couldn't solve; an opponent he couldn't defeat. The thought turned his expression to one of distaste as he dug his artificial replacement of a left hand into the stone of the tower, chipping off a few pieces.

It was absurd how she never once attacked him– only ever put up a defence when his assault came her way; Absurd how she'd admit she couldn't do anything other than defend and get a bigger rise out of him; Absurd how she was never hurt and never hurt him despite his past intentions to do so; Absurd how she'd managed to defeat him without the purpose of doing so and without lifting a single pretty finger.

As vexatious as it was, it was probably this reason that he never got rid of her. He couldn't so much as scratch her due to her defensive skills, but he'd been given the option several times to at least make her leave. He could have her exiled by a snap of his fingers, and just as well, she had stated that she would be on her way the moment he told her to go.

He'd never done so purely because she was the one he couldn't defeat. Albel was a stubborn and childish man in the way that he absolutely despised losing. However, he was not a sore loser. He would not simply quit playing if he'd lost– rather, he'd keep on playing until he won. Such was the situation. He'd continue until he found out just what made her so different, and when he did, he'd find that crack in her shield and take that shining innocence away from her.

Just as Albel had been imagining what she'd look like when such a thing happened, her eyes opened, locked right onto his form. Suddenly, the thought of her sobbing brokenly had lost just a bit of its appeal as their eyes seemed to meet from such a large distance. His eyes were cold and hard, unfeeling as they looked into ones that smiled cheerily at him.

Shortly after, he turned away from the edge of the watchtower, making his way down the steps to get back on solid ground. He was going to take up the front-line and boldly confront her.

The only problem was: Would he be able to bring himself to take her innocence away in the end?

* * *

_I just.. started writing this. And did not stop until I hit the end. Yet somewhere in the middle, I paused and thought to myself, "I have no idea where I'm really going with this." 'cause I really veered off the point of it for a while. In fact, the original idea I'd had for this kind of got pushed to the side as I started writing. The original was supposed to be how easy it'd be to take her innocence away, not how hard it'd be. Oh well._

_Please note that Jon'quet isn't actually able to defeat Albel. When she admits that she can't do anything but defend, she's admitting that she doesn't stand a chance against him if she were to try to attack. She's just insanely good at defending and can't attack for shit. Also note that I had originally come up with her name… then googled it and found out that it was a real name. xD Not the first time that's happened._

_I just hope I didn't kill Albel's personality! :( I haven't actually played the whole game, but I did play through the parts where he frequents. (Since he gets cast aside after a certain point like a throw-away. Like everyone else.) I realize this is really a big no-no if I'm writing for it, but I couldn't resist. Feel free to bitch at me for this writing sin. o(_ _)o_


End file.
